Shots Fired
by Marjorie K. Place
Summary: Brody and LaSalle connect through a common tragedy. Eventual Brody/LaSalle Romance. Warning: Minor character death.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my response to episode, 1.14.**

**WARNING: Contains a minor character death and subject matter that may be disturbing to some. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just like to have fun with them. **

_All units, please respond…_

_Shots fired_

_Federal Agent Involved_

_One body, male early 30's…_

_Medical Examiner in route_

Unsurmountable, fear gripped Pride as he and Brody started up the street to the familiar loft, which was now a major crime scene. Parking had been a nightmare as police cars, an ambulance and the coroner's wagon jammed street of the French Quarter where Christopher called home.

The details were vague, all they knew were shots had been fired and at least one person was dead; one person that vaguely fit the description of Christopher LaSalle.

Brody stopped just shy of the porch step, her heart practically leaping out of her chest. _What if_…

Though she'd been trained to handle these types of situations, she found that she could barely control her own emotions. Sure she had lost people in the field before but this was… Her own partner could be…

For several seconds she and Pride just stood there looking at the front door hoping and praying the report had been wrong: If the body in question was Christopher he wasn't sure how he would respond. For almost a decade it had been just he and LaSalle. For all practical purposes Chris had become family.

He looked at Brody, "Even though you're trained, it never gets any easier if it's one of your own."

"I don't want to go in there," Brody murmured meeting Pride's gaze.

"Whatever's in there isn't going to go away if we just stand here," Pride took the lead entering first.

From the doorway he could see Loretta and her team hovering over a body. His palms started to sweat. The body was the right size to be Chris Pride thought sickly as he and Brody weaved their way through the crowd.

"Loretta?"

"Don't look Dwayne," Loretta would only give him a verbal acknowledgement. She herself was still trying to process how her victim had ended up with a bullet to the head.

"Loretta, I need to know." Pride said more forcibly pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Forgive me." Loretta turned slightly, giving Pride and Brody a glimpse. "It's Cade." Brody covered her mouth turning away. She had seen gruesome crime scenes before but this was someone she knew; her partner's brother.

As morbid as it might sound a slight sense of relief washed over them. Though the identity of the body had brought a little comfort, they both knew the worst was yet to come. Brody even the more so, she knew firsthand what it was like to have lost a sibling.

What about Chris?" Brody asked, spotting a crowd in the courtyard. Heart still hammering, she made her way through the sea of people to the patio.

Chris was standing with his back to her, several CSI's and local police surrounding him.

"Excuse me" Brody wriggled her way between two officers in effort to get close to LaSalle. As soon she got close enough she felt her heart begin to plummet. Chris's face and neck were dotted in blood splatter. At first, she thought that he'd been injured but then she realized that he was standing next to Cade when it happened.

Without thinking, she reached for a bar towel that LaSalle had left lying over a chair.

"Chris?" He was staring blankly out into the street.

Gently, she started to blot the side of his face only to be met with a harsh tone from one of the CSI's.

"You can't do that, Ma'am." That blood splatter was now evidence. "We still need to photograph that."

That? Did they just seriously refer to her partner as _that_? Brody snapped, stalking over to the CSI her first thought was to smash the camera to bits. "He is a federal agent and his brother has just died. How about some professional courtesy?"

The CSI threw his hands up, backing away. "Just tryin' ta collect the evidence."

"Anyone else?" Brody challenged panning the crowd. She was going to protect her partner no matter what the cost.

As the crowd started to thin, Brody moved back to the railing.

"Chris? Chris, it's Brody."

LaSalle heard her voice, but didn't acknowledge her. His mind was still stuck on a warped version of the replay. He'd been so close, but powerless to stop it. The arguing and then… It had all happened so fast.

Pride stood a few feet away watching Brody's failed pleas to reach Chris. LaSalle wasn't talking. "What was his state of mind when you got here?" he asked the uniformed officer in charge.

"He hasn't said a word since EMS pulled him off the vic. Pretty upset when they first got here though." The officer paused making sure he had Pride's complete attention. ""It looks like the victim was shot with LaSalle's weapon."

Judging from the blood splatter, LaSalle could have been trying to stop him.

"Thanks," Pride clapped the man's shoulder before moving out onto the patio to deal with his number one.

Taking the opposite side from Brody, Pride placed a mollifying hand on LaSalle's shoulder. "Chris, they need to take your statement. You know what has to happen."

LaSalle gave a slight nod.

Pride then averted his glance to Brody. "Go into the bedroom, grab a ball cap, his shaving kit and some clean clothes." I'll take Chris in the truck and we'll all meet back at the office."

Directing his attention to the CSI crew, Pride spoke with authority. "You'll get all of the evidence you need, but you'll have to do it on my terms."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were in the sanctuary of the field office. When he was certain, LaSalle was settled Pride allowed two CSI's and one detective to enter the bullpen.

The tall detective with thinning sandy colored hair was the first to speak. I'm detective Larabee. This is CSI Harper and Cooper."

"And this is my sandbox," Pride said. "There will be no badgering of my agent. Ask your questions, gather your evidence and get out."

Brody watched protectively, as the CSI's photographed, prodded and swabbed her partner in all the usual ways. Afterwards they took a collection of his personal belongings and bagged them.

At least Chris seemed to a be little more with it now she thought noting he was following all of their verbal commands But there still something about his gaze that was definitely off, not that Brody could blame him. People had noted the same thing about her when Emily had died.

"He's got 10 minutes to shower and change." Detective Larabee told Brody as the CSI's released her partner for questioning.

Brody could feel deep seeded anger begin to bubble up in her chest. There was something about this guy that she just didn't like. Judging his tone he wanted to hang her partner.

"You heard Pride, our station, our rules." Body stood face to face with the detective as LaSalle picked up his bag and headed for the shower.

"He has as long as he needs," She was more than content to stand watch at the door if it would buy her partner some sort of peace of mind.

"Uh..we need his clothes," one of the CSI's said calmly. "Preferably before he gets in the shower."

"Fine, give me your evidence bag." Brody sounded exasperated.

Both CSI's looked nervously at Larabee as if they were waiting for permission.

Larabee rolled his eyes shaking his head as he motioned for them to hand Brody the bag. "Cooper go with her, make sure the evidence isn't tainted.

Brody walked slowly into the shower area and knocked on the door. "Chris, it's Brody we need your clothes." Cautiously she opened the door. Chris was just taking off his shirt. Arms crossed over her chest, she watched as her partner stripped down to just a pair of boxer-briefs.

"Take all the time you need," Brody determined this was the time to leave. Quietly, she exited, followed by CSI Cooper.

For almost thirty minutes, LaSalle stood under the shower, letting the water run cold. He didn't care. In fact he hadn't even noticed. He was still too caught up in the moment. Outside the door, Brody was calling his name, her attempts falling on deaf ears. It wasn't until she came inside and tugged on the curtain that he was pulled back to the present.

"Chris."

His doleful blue eyes, met her concerned filled brown ones. Brody instantly recognized the look. It was the same look she had seen in the mirror right after she had learned that Emily had died. Looking away, she reached for a towel and handed it to him.

"Get Dressed."

Body was waiting for him when he walked out of the bathroom, looking more like his clean sporty self. "We set up Larabee in the interrogation room, per Pride's request." She said, before noticing a suspicious looking red mark on his cheek.

"Is that a powder burn?" she reached up to touch it, only to have LaSalle sidestep her.

"It's nothin'"

LaSalle tried to focus on the detective's questions, but the sound of gun fire ringing in his ears made it impossible for him to comprehend. The man literally sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. Everyone who spoke to him sounded like they were in hole.

"Just tell me what happened between you and your brother," the detective repeated for the third time.

LaSalle squeezed his eye shut tight trying to will the fog away, but the sound of the gun fire and the feel of blood splattering on his face just kept getting in the way. It was like this mind was stuck on rewind.

From the other side of glass, Brody looked Pride. "Do you think he's in shock?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Pride answered deciding to call off the questioning.

"I was," Brody said quietly into Pride's back.

LaSalle's head snapped upward at the sound of the door. Though he wouldn't exactly call it peace, Pride's voice seemed to bring a smidgen of clarity.

"You said he'd answer all the questions we needed." The detective Larabee seethed.

"Twenty-Four hours," Pride returned. "Just give him some time to get his head on straight."

"I've got a dead man with his face half blown off in his apartment" the detective was pointing right at Chris. "Tell me Pride, would you wait twenty-four hours?"

Pride literally had no words. If he went by the book he couldn't give Chris that much time. In fact, he couldn't give Christopher anytime.

"Twelve hours is all he gets," the detective shot back. "If he's not talking by ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm hauling his ass off. NCIS Agent or not he will go to jail"

"Fine," Pride nodded. "Agent Brody will escort you from the premises now."

Pride waited for the agent to leave before taking the seat the man had vacated. "Christopher, I need you to talk to me." They had already tagged Chris' weapon. All they needed to do was run it for prints. Pride shuddered to think what would happen if the gun only revealed one set of finger prints.

Chris buried his head into his hands, placing his fingers on either side of his temple, The sound of gun was so loud. Was that damn sound ever going to stop?

"Christopher," Pride's voice rose in volume. "You've got to give me something, Buddy."

LaSalle raised his head looking at Pride. "I need to call my mom and my sister." He said pulling to his feet and exiting the interrogation room.

Avoidance Pride thought wondering how he weighed the hell of watching his brother die over having to tell his mother.

Five minutes later, Pride and Brody stood in the bullpen looking up into the conference room. Chris had a cell phone in his hand, pacing the floor.

"Do you think he's telling her how it happened?" Brody never took her eyes off her partner. If she had to guess the answer was no. Clearly, she still remembered the feeling of emotion tightening in her chest every time she tried to tell someone about Emily.

"I doubt it Pride answered watching as LaSalle suddenly fired the phone into the glass and then quickly followed up by clearing contents of the table in rage. Paper went flying along with the intercom system and whatever else had been sitting on the table.

"Oh My God," He was going to crack. Brody started to move only to have Pride call her back.

"Let him be," Pride's cell phone began to hum on his hip. Director Vance. "But don't take your eyes off of him."

"I won't," Brody's eyes locked on her partner as Pride disappeared into the other room.

Chris was pacing liked a caged tiger. Judging from his body language Brody assessed that he was looking for a way to calm the rage and confusion that was building inside him. Chris was lucky she thought. At least he was where he had quick access to his family and friends. When she had received the news about Emily she had been stuck aboard the Moultrie without a single to person to comfort her or talk to.

"It only gets worse," Brody said softly as she watched LaSalle palm table. She half expected him to tip it over. But instead he locked his fingers above his head, his body clearly tense. She was about to move for the stairs when he suddenly emerged from the conference room.

"I'm going out" he said lowly breezing past her.

Brody hesitated for a moment, glancing at Pride's door. He was still on the phone with Director Vance. "I'll come with you."

Together they walked several blocks in silence. Brody was used to LaSalle's quick pace and longer stride but tonight she was having trouble keeping up. He seemed to have a destination in mind. Briefly, she wondered if he had some sort of plan until they suddenly stopped in a dark deserted section of the street.

"Chris?" he was sporting that forlorn look again.

Something was starting to click. A flash of clarity maybe? She had to admit the interrogator in her was intrigued. The need to push him for answers was starting to nag at her mind.

_He'd just walked in the door, heading straight for the refrigerator. "Cade?" He was already in the kitchen when he felt his weapon being lifted from his belt._

_Cade? He whirled around_

_Boom!_

And just like that the fog rolled back in accompanied by the sound of the bullet screaming from the chamber of the gun.

"Chris?" Brody touched his arm and automatically he turned into her. He hadn't meant to but then her arms were wound around his neck. Tentatively his arms loosely wrapped around her waist not wanting to cross any boundaries until she started to ease into him, her body flush with his.

They were so close that Brody could feel his muscles quivering through his clothing.

"All you have to do right now is breathe," she whispered as his head rested on her shoulder. She wanted to tell him that everything was going to be ok but she couldn't. From experience she knew that things were never going to be fully right again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: There is a special guest in this chapter. See if you can guess who it is! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews and comments. I had intended on posting this chapter earlier but decided to wait until after this weeks episode since it featured Cade. ** **Thank you again, and enjoy!**

LaSalle felt like he was going to lose it. If he held on to Brody any longer he would end up in blubbering heap on the sidewalk which was the last thing he needed so he decided to keep moving.

Brody said nothing as he broke free their embrace and resumed his quick pace forcing her to follow until they reached, Ruby's All Night Liquor store.

Brody rolled her eyes. "This won't help," she said blocking his path to the door.

Placing his hands on her shoulders LaSalle gave her a murderous glance before gently brushing her aside. What did she know? He felt like he was going to literally going to explode if he didn't do something. Right now, downing a bottle of something mind numbing seemed like the perfect idea.

Purposely, he made his way to the back of the store with Brody nipping at his heels.

"Chris, you can't do this," It wasn't that Brody wanted to deny him the opportunity to drown his sorrows. It was the case. LaSalle still needed to give his statement to police. His mind needed to stay clear.

"I can do whatever the hell I want," he retorted reaching for a bottle of Big Red soda pop.

"No. You. Can't." The rest of Brody's words died on her lips. They had walked all this way for Soda?

Ignoring her, LaSalle picked up another two liter bottle from the shelf and headed for the register. Reaching for his wallet, he pulled out a twenty and handed it to the man behind the counter. "You got any cups?"

"How many do you need?" the man asked before noting something familiar about the NCIS agent. "Aren't you the guy on TV?"

TV? Brody glanced upward to the flat screen in the corner. Evidently, the ten o'clock news had decided to make her partner the latest in breaking news. An old stock photo left over from Chris's days with the vice squad plastered all over the screen. The anchor woman was saying something about a suspicious death.

Brody moved to the counter, hoping to usher her partner out of the line of sight.

"Let's go," she said softly, noting his hesitation. Gently, she gave him another nudge. "We need to leave now."

When they arrived back at the field office, Chris opted to stay in the courtyard leaving Brody to deal with an anxious Pride.

"What the hell, Brody? I asked you to keep an eye on him, not let him go roaming all over town!" He'd already started fielding calls over the news report.

"He needed a soda," Brody explained watching Pride's face change.

"Red fizzy soda?" Pride turned and made a bee line for the liquor cabinet, retrieving a liter of Vodka. If he was going to have to endure drinking the disgustingly sweet soda, it was going to need a kick.

"Don't just stand there, Brody." Pride added, heading out to the courtyard.

"So, what's with the Red Soda?" Brody asked, following.

"Coping mechanism." After ten years of being Chris's supervisor, Pride had come to know all of the younger man's vices.

How classically LaSalle Brody thought even in his worst moment he still had his quirks.

Again, Emily floated into her mind, reminding her of how she had been trapped aboard the Moultrie, forced to keep her thoughts and emotions inside. That first night she had consumed about a gallon of coffee in an effort to keep driving forward on her case. Anything to keep her mind off of Emily had been her goal and she suspected that Chris would be going down the same path as soon as he was cleared to come back to work.

The only difference was she would be there to keep him from inadvertently killing a group of innocent people.

* * *

At promptly, seven a.m. the next morning, the field office was invaded by special task force put together by Director Vance. The primary members included Team Leader, Ryan Anson, NCIS psychologist, Nate Getz, and couple of retired field agents.

"What is he doing here?" Upon seeing Agent Anson, Brody turned to Pride.

Pride placed his hand on her shoulder. "Director Vance thought that since Agent Anson has a relationship with this office that it would appropriate for him to head up the investigation of Chris's involvement in Cade's death.

"They don't seriously think that Chris had-"the thought was utterly ridiculous, Brody chimed.

"They're just doing their job. Director Vance just wants to make sure that we cover things by the book.

Brody felt her body stiffen as Anson and Getz made their way to them.

"Agent Pride, Agent Brody, I wish I could say it's a pleasure." Anson quickly delivered pleasantries and introduced Nate to Brody.

"Nate is originally from the L.A. field office. Now, he oversees specialized cases for the Agency."

Brody extended her hand, but kept her eyes on Anson. "I hadn't realized my partner was a special case."

"A suspicious death took place in his home. Director Vance wants all of the specifics as soon as possible"

"There is nothing suspicious about it," Brody retorted defensively prompting Pride to step between them.

"Nate, Christopher's in the kitchen. Agent Anson, I was just going to make a conference call to our medical examiner, why don't you join me?"

Brody opted to follow Nate into the kitchen, but hung back in the doorway. Not that she wanted to intrude; she just wanted to make sure Chris was safe. She watched as Nate easily gained Chris's attention and greeted him with a typical guy style hug.

"Well, they obviously have some sort of history," Brody thought watching Chris's reaction. It was if he were greeting a friend. But then again from what she knew of Chris everyone was a friend until proven otherwise.

Gazing at the clock, Nate had a little less than 4 hours to unlock the mystery that was being blocked by Chris's mind. If he couldn't Chris would likely be sitting in a jail cell come the noon hour.

Brody sank her teeth down into her lip, recalling how the ship's captain had requested that the ship's chaplain speak her about Emily. Like Chris she hadn't wanted to speak about Emily to anyone. Briefly, she wondered if Chris would be as tight lipped about it with Nate as he had been with her and Pride.

Keeping her distance, she shadowed the pair as they made their way outside to the courtyard. Listening intently, she heard Chris tell the revered NCIS psychologist that he knew why he was here. Casually, Nate returned with a line about Director Vance wanting him to help Chris remember. That may have been true, Brody thought inching closer so that she could hear more of the conversation.

Nate leaned forward in his chair. "Although, I am here in an official capacity, I volunteered. As soon as I heard the details, I was on the first plane out of Los Angeles. I owe you, Chris."

LaSalle gave a subtle nod. He'd saved Nate from taking bullet down in Mississippi, a couple of years back. "Where do you want me to begin?"

"Wherever you feel you need to." Nate returned.

"A few weeks ago, Cade had a manic episode, tore up my house pretty bad. A friend of mine was able to get him a temporary placement in a residential treatment center but after the mandatory holding period was over, he took off again. I didn't think I'd ever see him again, then he showed up night before last, said he wanted my help. He's my brother, I couldn't hardly turn him away."

"And last night," Nate asked leading.

Chris shrugged. "I got home about 6, went to the refrigerator and that's when I felt my gun leave my belt."

"C'mon, Chris," Brody coaxed quietly. She watched his eyes drift off to that empty place and instantly knew it was going to be another failed attempt.

"Did you turn around or try to take it back?" Nate asked gently.

"I don't know," Chris answered honestly. "Every time, I try to remember, the gun keeps goin' off in my head. Next, thing I know, Cade's lying on the floor with a-"

Nate touched Chris's shoulder and pulled to his feet.

Brody waited until Nate was back inside before trying to approach her partner. "What do you say we go get some breakfast?"

"I'm not really hungry, you go ahead."

"I was hoping you'd take me that new shrimp and grits place over off Royal."

Chris looked up at her in disbelief. Brody hated shrimp and grits.

Brody shifted her gaze to Anson hoping he would follow.

Picking up on her hint, Chris shifted his glance. Anson was talking with Loretta on the web cam. "On second thought, grits sound pretty good." No way was he in the mood to try to take on Anson.

Brody held out her hand. "Give me your phone." she said, watching him fish it from his pocket. She then set it on the table along with her own, so that they couldn't be tracked. She knew Pride would be pissed and that Anson would probably have the entire US Navy on their ass, but she didn't care. All she cared about was her partner's peace of mind.

"Good Morning, Dwayne." Loretta greet brightly as two figures appeared on the monitor. "Whose your friend?"

"This is Special Agent Anson, he's here to investigate Christopher's involvement in Cade's death."

"It's nice to meet you," Loretta did her best to keep a welcoming smile, but deep down she sensed the agent's intent was to cause harm to her family.

Pride crossed his arms over his chest. "What can you tell us Loretta?"

The two agents watched as Loretta turned her back and went to another screen. "The trajectory of the bullet is very interesting. The bullet appears to have entered at angle-

"Which is non-consistent with gun related suicides," Anson finished, cutting the medical examiner off.

Pride turned his head, glaring. "Or it could be that LaSalle grabbed the gun, hoping to save Cade."

Loretta let out a heavy sigh. "May I finish, Gentlemen?"

"Of course," Pride lamented.

"As I was saying the bullet went in at an interesting angle and entering just above the right cheekbone and proceeded downward through the nasal cavity and exited through the mandible. Now, I may not be a detective but the last time I saw Christopher with Cade, Christopher was at least 3-4 inches shorter than his brother. "

"Thank you, Dr. Wade." Pride grinned, turning off the monitor. With the revelation that the bullet had entered at angle and the height difference, Chris was almost in the clear.

"This isn't over," Anson said flatly. "We still need to interview LaSalle and do a thorough investigation of all the evidence."

"Go right ahead. If you'd like you can interview Christopher right now. " Pride was still beaming when Nate stepped up beside him.

"Actually, he can't. LaSalle and Brody just left."

Anson looked at Pride, trying to suppress a grin. "And you still think he has nothing to hide."

Pride's eyes narrowed slightly. "You were wrong about Brody, Anson. My guess is you'll be wrong about LaSalle too."

"There's nothing, I want more." The taller agent replied, smug.

* * *

Pride was waiting for Brody when she returned, alone.

"Where's LaSalle?"

"I dropped him off at my place." Brody answered.

Pride felt the anger beginning to crawl up his chest. "So not only did you let him leave the office. You also left him alone?" For several moments, he glared at her through emotional and angry eyes. Was she trying to get LaSalle thrown in jail?

"Is this a game to you Brody?"

"No it's not. Actually it's very personal," Brody clipped icily.

"We've got internal affairs and NOPD trying to label Cade's death as a homicide. You can't use your sister's death to put some kind of spin on this because you want to use Chris to analyze your own feelings."

Spin on this? Is that what he thought? Brody's chestnut eyes darkened. I'm not trying to spin anything! I'm trying to save my partner!"

"From what exactly?" Pride challenged. "Turning out like you?"

Brody blinked furiously as the tears began to gather on her lashes. "And to think, I was actually starting to buy into the family bit!" she retorted, before walking out the door.

**A/N: hee-hee... Everyone just remember Pride only wants to save his number one from a murder charge. **


	3. Chapter 3

Pride was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. Loretta's theory about the trajectory of the bullet compared to LaSalle's height was a good one, but in the eyes of the law it wouldn't be enough to keep the DA from going after Chris. The downside to the trajectory was that Loretta would not be able to rule it a suicide. The official cause of death was going to be a single gunshot, not enough to evidence to rule out a homicide.

Abigail Borin approached him. "Let me guess too much nasty coffee?" Abigail had spent the entire in the NOPD crime lab observing as they tested the samples they had gathered from Chris.

"On the contrary, I haven't had enough," Pride looked up at her. "What did you find out?"

Palming the desk, Abigail leaned over, a grin on her face. "LaSalle's gun has two sets of prints: His own and one Cade LaSalle."

"That's good, real good," Pride returned. Not that there was anything good in this entire situation but with Cade's prints on the weapon, it stood be a point in Chris's favor.

Abigail straightened as Nate approached them.

"Nate Getz, this Special Agent Abigail Borin, United States Coast Guard." Pride said, pulling to his feet.

"Nice to meet you," Nate answered before turning his attention to Pride. "I was able to make some calls. NOPD has agreed to hold off questioning Chris for now.

"That's good."

* * *

Brody was still fuming over Pride's hurtful words when she pulled up in front of Chris's place and stepped out of her car. After going home and finding her house empty, she was afraid he'd gone off the deep end. Walking around to the back, she entered through the court yard, mindful of the yellow police tape.

"Chris?"

Quietly, she padded into the living room and found Chris kneeling over the spot where Cade had died.

"Chris, you can't be here." she said softly. She watched as he raked a hand over his face and pulled to his feet.

"It doesn't seem real."

"I know what you mean." she said, meeting his lost and confused blue eyes. "It took me awhile to realize that Emily was gone. There times when I would pick up the phone and-" She stopped, noting that Chris was staring pensively into an empty space.

"Chris?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I was just wondering if there wasn't something different that I could have done." Maybe if he would have stayed home from work yesterday or called Savannah sooner? Dozens of questions were racing through his mind.

Brody reached for his hand giving it a squeeze. "It's ok."

"I just should have seen it."

"Chris, you couldn't have known."

"But I should have known, I'm his or was his brother"

"You will always be Cade's brother."

_His baby brother _

Brody could see he was starting to get despondent. "Look, as long as we're here why don't you walk me through what happened. Maybe it'll help trigger something and get internal affairs off your back.

"Ok," Chris said skeptical.

"Did you see Cade when you first came home last night?"

"No, but the TV was on ESPN"

Brody walked over to the remote and turned on the Television. Chris was right. The channel had been ESPN.

"Which door did you come through?"

"Back like always."

"Start from the back and make your way through the kitchen." Brody instructed.

As he started to move for the door, Brody had an afterthought. "Wait, just a sec".

Removing her weapon, she handed it to Chris.

LaSalle looked down at the weapon she had just placed in his hand.

"The more things we have in place, the better the chance of you retracing your actions." Brody said watching him stuff her weapon in the back of his jeans. "Now, retrace your steps."

Brody waited until his hand was on the refrigerator before padding up behind him. From where Chris was standing there was only one angle that Cade could have taken.

Palms sweating and heart pounding, Chris felt her lift the weapon and whirled around.

_The muzzle of his weapon was staring right at him. _

_Cade?_

_Whohoo, baby brother! How many bad guys did you take down today?_

Brody held her position as she watched him raise his hands. He seemed to be looking right through her.

_"__Put it down, Cade."_

_Cade smiled widely, Look at you big law man. Mom and Daddy must be so proud. Picking up all my slack._

_Cade, just give me the gun._

_ "__Can't do that baby brother." He'd messed up too many times. He couldn't watch his family go through that again. _

Chris lunged at Brody, knocking her off balance. Regaining her footing she held tight to the gun as Chris pushed it upward in effort to take it away out of harm's way. Stumbling she fell backwards, taking Chris to the floor.

_Chris landed solidly on top of Cade, still fighting the resistance for the gun. A shot rings out, deafening the entire house. One brother struggling for control, the other silent and lifeless._

"No!" Brody heard his scream and felt his body engulf her. Every muscle and fiber of his being was wrapped around her, sobbing, trembling.

For several minutes she laid there, just stroking his hair as held onto her.

"It was an accident, Chris" she said finally prompting him to roll off of her. He pushed to his feet, offering her a hand up.

"It wasn't an accident," he said swiping at his face before heading to the kitchen sink.

Brody stood at the counter watching as he turned on the faucet, splashing water on his face. "It wasn't your fault, Chris."

For several moments, he just stood there staring at the backsplash before deciding to turn around. "Then whose fault was it? Cade's?" It couldn't have been Cade's fault he reasoned. Cade was sick.

"It's no one's fault," Brody said as he continued to berate himself.

"I'm the one who was responsible for him. I should have done something."

Well, I can tell you one thing you shouldn't have done," a strange voice rang out, startling both Brody and LaSalle.

Detective Larabee strolled into the living room, looking like the cat who had just eaten the mouse. "You shouldn't have come back to the crime scene. Always make's ya look guilty." He turned to the three uniforms that were with him. "Take them both in."

Larabee walked over to Chris, with a smug look plastered across his face as he took out his handcuffs. "I'm so going to enjoy bringing you down for the murder of your brother and given the fact that you and your partner just destroyed evidence from my crime scene. Well, that makes you look all the more guilty."

Brody said nothing as one of the officers slipped the cuffs around her wrists. Larabee had them dead to rights on contaminating the crime scene. The officer had just secured one wrist when suddenly Brody saw, LaSalle turn and bust Larabee with a mean right hook. Before the detective could react, Chris grabbed the man by the scruff back of his collar and proceeded to smash his face into the counter top.

In a matter of seconds, the three uniformed officers, were all over LaSalle, tactical batons swinging.

Before Brody even had a chance to speak, her partner was on the floor, face down and she prayed that he would stay that way rather than trying to fight back. Considering they were up against NOPD it seemed almost useless for her to even attempt to fight back.

Her heart bled for Chris as he was cuffed and unceremoniously dragged out to an awaiting patrol car.

"Guess, it's true what they say. Mental illness runs in families. Too bad it won't be much of a defense in your partner's case." Larabee sneered as the female officer of the group finished cuffing Brody.

**A/N: Can y'all just hear Pride now? Not to worry, we'll be coming up on the turning point of the story soon ;). Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews and comments. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. From here on out, it's all "Cherri" (or La'Ody?). There is also a special section in this chapter that is dedicated to Jeneral2885. ;)**

Pride stared pensively at a photograph that was sitting on the Police Chief's desk. He and Police Chief , Jeb Tannenbaum, had been friends for nearly thirty years. The two went back to Pride's early days with the sheriff's department.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting Dwayne," Jeb greeted,. "Take a seat."

Pride opted to stand. "Tactical Batons? Really?"

Jeb put his hands in the air. "Your guy swung first"

Pride offered his old friend, a tight smile. He'd knew Chris well enough to know that usually wasn't the one to start things. He preferred to finish them. "The way I understand it, LaSalle was provoked."

"Maybe." Jeb knew Larabee could be quite the ass. "I'll tell you what. I'll make sure Larabee doesn't press charges and as for contaminating the crime scene, I'll just add it to the list of favors you already owe me."

"And what about the pending charges against Christopher?"

Jeb made a face;" according to the statement he just gave the DA will probably go with accidental homicide. Can't say for sure but given LaSalle's record with NCIS and the fact that his brother suffered from mental illness, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to work somethin' out."

Pride extended his hand. "I appreciate you, my brother."

"I'll have your people released within the hour." Jeb answered as Pride headed for the door his mind ticking.

"Actually, why don't we let LaSalle sit for a bit?" He wanted some time with Brody."

Sure thing, Jeb. Just let me know when you want to come back and pick him up.

"Where's Chris?" Brody asked the minute she was released.

"He'll be out in a little while," Pride commented as Brody collected her personal items. "There's something I want to talk to you about and Chris can't know anything about it."

"Are you going to yell at me again," Brody started. "Because if you are, it wasn't my fault, Chris went to his place all on his own. All I did was follow."

Pride engaged her with a tight smile. "I'm not going to yell at you Brody. In fact, I want to apologize for the things I said earlier. I was out of line, and I'd like to ask if you'd forgive me."

Brody looked at her boss, uncertain of what to say. So, she opted to say nothing.

Taking her silence as a positive, Pride continued. "Second, Chris is going to need somebody right now. He's needs a friend."

"Aren't you his friend?" Brody retorted, deciding she still hadn't quite forgiven Pride yet. "He worships the ground you walk on."

"Yes. But I know Chris. He won't open up to me about this."

"And what makes you think he'll open up to me?" Brody challenged.

"Because you're a female and you've been through it. You lost your sister."

Brody sighed inwardly. Pride had her there. "Ok, there's just one thing though."

"What's that?"

"Chris is family. So, you didn't have to ask."

"Thank you."

* * *

Chris raked a hand through his short sprigs of hair and winced. His shoulder and neck ached from where he had taken the brunt of some uniform's tactical baton. How had he ended up here exactly? Everything still seemed so surreal.

He could deal with the fall out of his actions with Larabee, but the fact that his big brother was gone. That one was going to take some time. He'd fought so hard to save Cade from mental illness, it didn't seem right that things ended this way.

He'd been listening when Brody had tried to convince him that Cade's death was an accident and maybe it would have been if it had been somebody else's brother. But Chris was an expert at disarming people: most of the time he could take a gun from someone without even blinking. But when it came to Cade, it was as if all of his rational thinking and skill had abandoned him.

He'd let down the most important person in his life.

"Sitting there, feeling guilty isn't going to make it any better," Pride said as the guard buzzed the door to Chris's cell open.

Chris picked up his jacket and pulled to his feet. "And what would you know about it exactly?" He watched as Pride's brows knitted on his forehead. He never spoke to Pride in that kind of tone, ever.

"You want to repeat that again, son?"

Chris shook his head. It had been a long time since Pride had called him son.

"Sorry, if I let ya down, King."

Pride clapped his hand down on the younger man's shoulder as they walked into the corridor. "You've never let me down, Christopher."

Chris offered the older man a slight smile. "So, I take it you squared things with Jeb?"

"The D.A. too," Pride returned as they made their way into the parking lot. "All you've got to worry about now is burying your brother."

Chris felt his eyes begin to water. Pride's words had just hit him a ton of bricks. Burying Cade meant that he was never coming back and that this whole messed up nightmare was real.

"Miss Loretta's ready to release his body then."

"Soon as you're ready," Pride said softly, nothing that the younger man looked like he was going to break. "You want me to come with you?"

"No, Sir." This was something he needed to do on his own.

* * *

Loretta was standing over her instrument tray when she felt another human presence, behind her. Chris was standing in the doorway looking completely broken.

"Christopher, come in," she waved. Though she'd wanted to she hadn't expected him to see him here in person.

"Sorry to bother you, Miss Loretta", Chris replied lowly. "Pride said you were ready to release the body."

The body. Poor thing, couldn't even manage to say Cade's name. "First, things, first" Loretta replied, opening her arms "Come here."

Chris kept his distance. If he let Loretta touch him, he would be done.

"Christopher," she said more forcibly. They were family. They would grieve together, she reasoned as he stepped closer to her. Loretta wound her arms around him as tight as she could. For all practical purposes she was the mother in their little NCIS family and right now, one of her babies was hurting.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered feeling his tears, against her neck. "If there is anything, I can do, anything at all…"

"I appreciate that," Chris sniffed as the embrace ended. "Can I see him?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Loretta asked carefully.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Loretta lead him to a row of silver colored drawers and opened the one marked LaSalle. "Take all the time you need."

For several moments, Chris looked down at his brother's cold lifeless body. Given the damage to his face, it didn't really seem like Cade, but brown wavy hair and distinguishing freckles and profile told him differently.

"Where would like the body sent?" Loretta asked gently when he had finished.

"I don't know." Chris replied woodenly.

"There's a nice mortuary in the Garden District, Schaffer Brothers. They'll care of everything."

"Whatever you think is best." Chris shrugged, not seeing Brody step up behind him.

"I'll get the paper work started and give them a call." Loretta said touching his forearm as Chris turned to Brody.

"What are you doing here?"

"I have a little of experience with all of this. I thought you could use a friend." Brody smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Chris replied managing a sad grin of his own.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Brody returned looping her arm through his. "How does Chubby's Chicken sound?"

"Like heartburn waiting to happen, but the beer's always cold and the chicken's good."

* * *

The following morning Brody stared pensively into the empty space in her living room as the sun started to stream through the blinds. It had been a long time since she had awoken with Emily on her mind and tears threatening to cloud her eyes. Even after eight years, there still some days that just got to her.

Today was one of them. She supposed it had something to do with LaSalle and his current situation with losing Cade. She reached for a tissue in time with a knock at the door.

She was expecting Pride but was pleasantly surprised when she found Dr. Douglas Wilkens standing at the door with warm Beignets and fresh coffee in hand.

"This is a surprise," she smiled, as he smiled back.

"I saw what happened to LaSalle; I figured you probably had a long night."

"The night has now meshed with today," She padded into the kitchen to retrieve some plates and moved to her small kitchen table. She had just set the plates down when she heard a loud crash coming from the bedroom.

"Chris," she said worriedly.

"LaSalle is here in your bedroom?" She watched Doug's face change and immediately knew he was hurt. For several weeks now, they had been engaging in what Brody liked to call _safe dates:_ a lunch, a coffee here and there, both debating about taking it to the next level.

"His brother died," Brody said over her shoulder.

"So, you chose to sleep him?" Doug called out innocently; his tone was more hurt than accusatory.

"It isn't like that," Brody returned before disappearing from his sight. Yes, she'd fallen asleep next to Chris in her bed, but it had been strictly platonic. Her only TV was in the bedroom and after a couple of glasses of wine for her and few shots of whiskey for Chris, they'd both drifted off in the middle of Jimmy Kimmel's monologue. At some point during the middle of the night, She'd awoken to the sensation of Chris's arms wrapped around her. She'd debated about trying to wriggle free but had been afraid of disturbing him and consented to letting him have whatever he needed.

Brody entered her bedroom to find Chris sitting straight up in her bed, his hand covering his eyes. He was breathing hard. Glancing to the floor, she saw the bedside lamp, shattered on the floor. Obviously, he had awoken from the throes of a nightmare and knocked it from the table.

"Chris? You okay?" she asked sinking to the edge of the bed.

"No," he answered for the first time in days. He pulled his hand away from his face looking at her through hazy and tired looking eyes.

Brody smiled at him and touched the side of his face, "the nightmares will go away in time." She said before pushing to her feet to take care of the broken lamp.

Breaking free of the haze, Chris tossed back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Did I do that? Here, let me help."

"It's all right. I got this." Brody told him. "Just go get dressed. We have a lot to do today."

* * *

**Several Hours later…**

"What kind of arrangements would you like?" Owen Schaffer asked. Owen was the half owner of Schaffer Bros Mortuary.

Chris looked at the man a little confused. "You mean like flower arrangements?"

"No," the man replied looking from Chris to Brody.

Brody shifted slightly in her chair. She felt a little awkward, being the one to help Chris plan his brother's funeral and was a little perplexed by the fact that Chris wasn't doing this with his mom. But at the same time, she was his partner and his friend. What mattered the most was that she respected his wishes. "He means for the service. Do you want an open casket, closed casket, cremation?"

Chris bit down on his lip. He'd never given it much thought. "Definitely, not an open casket," Chris couldn't bear the idea of his mother or sister having to live with seeing the way that Cade had died.

"All right then, what type of casket would you prefer?" The man handed Chris a brochure. "We have several different types: Bronze, Gold and Silver are our most popular. They start at 16 gauge steel and run all the way up to 24."

He paused for a moment. Then there's a casket liner. . .

Casket liner? Now, Chris was giving the man a deer in the headlights look.

"Can we see them?" Brody asked noting the distress clouding in Chris's eyes.

"The casket liners?" Owen asked.

"No, the caskets you have on display."

"It'll be a moment, we have another family back there right now. If you'll excuse me, I'll go see where they are in the process."

"That'll be fine," Brody replied. "We'll wait."

Overwhelmed, Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no idea there would be so many decisions to make; a casket, a liner, a vault, flowers, music, programs, scriptures, collage photos, cemetery plot, and clothing. It was just too much.

"Just breathe," Brody told him as he drew his hand away from his face.

"Seems like you've been saying that a lot lately." He said looking into her big chocolate colored eyes. "These last few days…" his voice trailed. Without Brody he wouldn't have survived this torturous process. It suddenly made him have a whole new appreciation for his parents and their little talks about what do when they were gone. Like most, people Chris had always tried to stay clear of the subject, but now given the situation he realized just how important it was to have those types of conversations.

"You're going to get through this," she smiled, placing her hand in his.

"I'm not so sure," Emotionally, he was spiraling out of control. Not that he was going to let Brody see that. As soon as he was able he was going to hit Bourbon Street and drown himself in every way he could think of to ease the pain and guilt.

"C'mon," Brody teased. "What did that cute federal agent say about you? "First man in the door and the last one out."

"You forgot the part about being the only man you want when things go sideways." Chris quipped with his famous grin.

"I was getting to that," Brody smiled looking down at their hands. Their fingers were now laced. It felt pretty nice she thought as he tugged her to her feet. Owen was back.

"Right this way…"

Chris continued to hold her hand as they walked through the aisle of caskets. He knew it was an overly personal thing to be doing, but Brody didn't seem to mind and it calmed the ever crushing sensation of loss that continued to build inside his chest.

After making a suitable selection, they briefly talked about flowers and scriptures followed by the specifics of the service. Though Chris knew that Cade had a faith in God, he'd never been involved in the church as an adult, so he went with what he thought was best. They'd decided it would be an outdoor ceremony; a grave site service only.

* * *

Over the next several days, Chris continued to stick to Brody like glue. For some unknown reason to him the crime in New Orleans had just stopped allowing to her to stay with him 24/7 right up until the day of Cade's funeral. Without even realizing she was quickly becoming his salvation. Whenever he felt the need she was there willing to share with him whatever type of comfort he needed; a stolen embrace, a touch of her hand, calming word or two, heck she was even there with tequila shots. She was quickly becoming his everything. As for planning the service, thank the Lord with his mom in tailspin and his sister in another state Brody's support had made the task more than bearable.

* * *

That morning, Brody couldn't have looked more beautiful. A strange thing to be thinking the day of his brother's funeral, Chris thought but it was true. She had chosen a knee length, black and white dress that clung to her slender figure perfectly.

"Here let me fix your tie," she said taking it from him as the service was about to start.

Go right ahead. Chris tried to stand perfectly still as she looped it around his neck and then began the process of tying it into a perfect slip knot but he found it impossible. Her proximity to him was just too close. He had a make a decision take a step back or-

"Tilt your head back a little," Brody said.

Chris did what he was told. "This makes me dizzy," he said placing his hands on her hips for balance. There had always been something very unnerving about having to tilt his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He didn't know why that was all he knew was that it made him a little light headed and queasy.

"How can that make you dizzy?" Brody scoffed as she pulled the slip knot up his collar her hands, splayed across his chest.

Chris lowered his head, the tips of their noses brushing, "Cause it takes my eyes off of you."

For several seconds, they held each other's gaze waiting for the other to pull away.

"That's got to be the cheesiest line I've heard," Brody returned finally taking a step back.

"Really? Cause, I thought it was pretty good."

Brody's first thought was to retort with something witty, but instead she opted for kindness. Gently, she ran her hand down his chest until their fingers tangled. "Now, you're starting to sound like you again. I like that." She said, giving his hand a squeeze before opting to join Pride and the others outside at the grave site.

Several members of NOPD, NCIS, NOLA VICE, and the Navy dotted the seats giving the enclosed area an illusion of a full house. Even Ross P. managed to make an appearance.

"Chris has a lot of friends," Brody commented as the family took the front row. Chris took the end seat next to his mother, followed by his kid sister and her family.

"Yes, he does," Pride returned as Laurel slipped into the vacant seat next to him.

"Sorry, I'm late, Daddy."

Pride stretched his arm over the back of her chair. "Did you get those Praline's from your Mama, the ones that Christopher likes so much?" Pride knew that Linda wouldn't attend the service due to their personal situation. But he also knew how Linda felt about Chris. Like Pride, Linda looked at Chris as one of her own.

"They're in the car."

Pride gave her shoulder a squeeze. "That's all that matters."

Not that it was unusual for an outside service, but Brody was the first to notice that Chris had opted to wear aviator type shades. All throughout the service she watched him, making note of his every moment. His body language seemed tensed, almost agitated in fact. A few times, it looked as if he had stopped breathing.

* * *

The pastor started to speak, but Chris LaSalle never heard a word. His mind was too busy replaying everything that had happened over the past week: the struggle, the gun shots, seeing Cade in the morgue, everything.

He felt like he was choking. Reaching up, he started to tug on the tie that Brody had expertly knotted.

Brody leaned over to Pride, "There's something wrong." She said quietly knowing there was nothing they could about it. The funeral was making everything too real Brody concluded as she watched her partner lean over to his mother and whisper something in her ear. Mama LaSalle whispered something back and slipped her hand into Chris's holding it tightly.

* * *

The calming effect of his mother's hand wrapped in his own had managed to get Chris through the remainder of the service, but not through the receiving line. As soon as people began to pay their respects he leaned over, and pecked his Mom's cheek.

"There's something, I need to take care of," he told her before turning and making his way through the cemetery to his truck.

* * *

Brody's first thought was go after him until she remembered how she had felt at Emily's memorial service. She had felt like she was suffocating. In the hours afterward, brief moments of solitude had given her peace and she hoped they would do the same for Chris. She and Pride would give him some space and then they would look for him she reasoned, choosing to stay next to Pride and Laurel.

* * *

**Midnight. **

Clad in nothing but a pink tank and plaid boxers, Brody padded across her living room turning out the lights. She was about to go to bed when she heard a loud thud, hit her front door. Reaching for her weapon, her first thought was that she lived on the Mardi Gras route and although, it was no longer the season, she was still susceptible to the occasional party goers who mistook her humble cottage for a bar.

"Who is it?" she asked, keeping her weapon trained.

"LaSalle."

Brody rolled her eyes, and set her weapon the end table before unlocking the door.

"Where have you been?" she asked as he palmed the door jam, looking as if he could barely stand.

Disheveled clothing and hair tussled, he looked at her through blood shot eyes, "Every place that would serve me on Bourbon Street."

"We looked for you, on Bourbon Street," Brody stepped aside and invited him in. The big crash had finally come and it had landed right on her front door step.

"Then I went over to Royal Street and Decatur." he slurred.

Brody shook her head. She couldn't deny that after Emily's death, and the incident on the Moultrie that she hadn't done something similar, "I'll make you some coffee."

"I don't want any coffee," his voice lowered, husky and seductive. Chris reached for her arm, reeling her to him. Before Brody could retort, his arms slipped around her waist, as he backed her up against the front the door.

"What's the matter?" he asked noting the look of hesitation in her eyes. "You wanted me to kiss you earlier at the chapel." Leaning in, Chris brushed her mouth with a soft but purposeful kiss. Even as drunk as he was, he knew if Brody wanted to she could shut him down in a second.

Eyes met and once again, they were locked in that come and get me gaze. He wondered briefly why she wasn't doing anything. She was standing there looking as intently as he was looking at her.

She was waiting.

**A/N II: From here on out the rating may change to M. I haven't decided yet so if you don't have this story on alert you need to look for it on my page as it will disappear from the stories page.**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Mature Subject matter with a strong rating of T.

She was waiting.

Waiting for him to make another move? In any other situation, the woman would have given him a clear signal by now. She would have sent him packing or offered up herself. Her decision to remain neutral had him perplexed. He didn't know if he should continue or turn and run.

* * *

She became momentarily distracted by the sudden rage of hormones that were flooding her system. Had her partner always been this hot? She's always known that his smile and southern charm where what women found to be irresistible, but hadn't really paid attention to it until now. The last few days, she'd seen him as a human being instead of the kick ass law man that everyone wanted on their side.

She needed to play this right. She shuddered to think what would happen if their moment came to an abrupt end. Maybe this one time would bring them closer together as partners? She'd been in casual relationships long enough to know that it wasn't going to destroy them. Sure there would be awkwardness at first, but then they would be the professionals that they were and move past it.

"Chris-"

He cut off her words with his mouth, sealing his lips hard against hers. He didn't want to hear anything she had to say he just want her to take all of his pain away. It was safe to say, that she was the drug habit that was going to support his healing.

He was not disappointed.

She responded to his kiss. Wet soft lips, invited a more unrestrained environment. She wasn't certain why she was giving in so easily. Maybe it had to do with the mutual feeling of hurt that they'd shared or her lack of commitment to Dr. Wilkens. Not that it mattered. She knew Chris's track record with women well enough to know that he wasn't looking for anything long term. He was just looking for a way to curb his uncontrollable pain. The fact that she understood his pain and had lived with it, made her empathic. She met him move for move. He pushed forward and her back arched making the barrier between them unacceptable, Brody broke out of the kiss and reached for his tie. She removed it as quickly as she had put it on for him and then went for the buttons on his shirt.

His hands, slipped under her thin t-shirt, raking it over her head. He then moved for her shorts, sliding them over her hips until they were pooled at her feet. She quickly kicks them aside and reaches for his belt.

Dipping his head, Chris kissed her neck, "whatdoya say we move this to the bedroom?"

"Shower," Brody countered. She wanted him sober when they made love. More importantly, she wanted him free from everything on Bourbon Street. If they were only going to have one night together, she wanted him at his best.

The shower only served as a tease as the rush of steam and warm water glistening off their skin intensified the moment. At one point, Chris had her right where he wanted her. Pressed up against the wall, he reached down to that special spot that drove nearly all women wild. Her lips parted, and from the back of her throat came the sweetest moan he'd ever heard.

Digging her fingernails into his shoulders she called out his name, prompting a smile to form on his lips. Going from the shower to the bed, proved to be more of chore as two slick bodies each fought for control of one another. But in the end, Brody let him dominate. The fact that Chris had left the funeral told her that he was in desperate need to escape what he could not control. So, for the moment, she let him control her until physical satisfaction was reached, leaving both spent.

In the afterglow, Brody rested her head on his chest, listening to the thump of his heartbeat. "What are you thinking about?" she asked as he lazily ran his fingers up her arm.

"Cade"

Brody sighed softly, dropping a kiss on his chest. "When Emily died, I thought my whole world was going to end. I didn't know how to live without my sister." Raising her eyes, she looked up at him. Gauging his expression she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"It literally hurts to breathe."

Brody repositioned herself, so that she was lying directly on top of him. "I wish I could tell you that it's going to get better soon," she whispered. "But I can't." She knew that when it came to grief that each person had to travel their own individual journey. For Chris his journey was just beginning. She only hoped that he wouldn't end up making the same type of mistakes she had on the Moultrie.

"You need to talk to someone," Brody murmured, recalling how she had let her feelings over Emily stay pent up inside for far too long.

Chris smiled at her as he reached up and brushed a fallen hair away from her face. "I talk to you."

"You know what I mean." They both knew that Pride was going to make him do it. Department Policy would dictate that since there was a shooting involved that Chris participate in the minimum number of required sessions before returning to the field.

"Yeah, I know." he said, kissing her softly.

Brody slipped off his chest and back into the cradle of his arms where she stayed content for the rest of the night, consenting to be his much needed source of comfort.

A/N: Sorry it's so short. I didn't want to screw up their big moment by adding anything else.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next several days, being with Brody helped to keep Chris grounded. Cade had been gone exactly ten days now and everything was still just as raw and painful as the day he had died. Except for the moments when he was with Brody. There was just something about her that made it all seem to diminish at least for a little while.

However, Merri Brody could always tell when he was actually making love to her and when he was being driven by grief. It was like being with two completely different people: One who was affectionate and attentive and the other who was distant and acted as if he were on some sort of personal conquest. She did have to admit however, that whichever version she was with it was always satisfying. Chris LaSalle definitely knew how to please a woman.

Although their little arrangement if that's what you could call it, seemed unconventional it helped them to build a deeper sense of trust. The kind that said, I've got your back and I'll be there when you need me. So, they were partners in every sense of the word. Merri was fine with that.

"Uh, do ya think we could just sleep tonight?" Brody asked as he slipped underneath the covers beside her and kissed her shoulder in anticipation. They'd been together five days straight now, and needless to say, Brody was more than exhausted. Her body was telling her that they needed a break.

"Do you want me ta leave?" he asked looking a little apprehensive.

Merri touched the side of his face and kissed him. "No, I want you to sleep here with me… Her voice trailed, knowing that for her partner, sleeping all night would be out of the question. He was still running on a combination of anxiety and an overload of adrenaline. When he did sleep, it wasn't the sound sleep that his body needed. It was the nightmarish kind that left him scared and emotionally spent.

"Isn't that what we've been doing?" Chris quipped as she settled into his arms. It wasn't as if they had sex and then he got up and left. He always spent the entire night, holding her, memorizing the curves of her body.

"Only one of us has been sleeping," Merri pointed out.

It was then that the light bulb suddenly came on. She was worried about him. " I just have a lot of excess energy to burn is all." He smiled kissing the tip of her nose. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about."

Brody made a face. "Chris, I've been where you are, of course, I'm going to be concerned. You don't sleep, and you barely eat…"

"And you're afraid; I'm going to blow up a whole boat load of people?" He finished, inferring that her intent was that he wouldn't have her back when it mattered.

Where had that come from? Biting her lip, Brody swallowed back the anger that was beginning to form inside of her chest as he tossed back the covers and reached for his clothes.

* * *

At the office, Chris found that things weren't much better. Given the fact that Cade had died at the hand of his own gun Director Vance had doubled his time required for the needed psych evaluation. Ever since Brody had admitted to her sister's death to being a factor in the incident on Moultrie the agency had been relooking at timelines and guidelines for agents involved in various types of personal situations.

"Six weeks? Are ya kiddin' me?" Chris looked at Pride, betrayed. His work was his entire life. It was who he was, the very reason for his existence. Six weeks in New Orleans with nothing but time on his hands would literally send him over the edge. Sure he could spend extra time at the children's hospital and at his mother's house fixing up things but that was it. The rest would be all downhill.

Pride looked at the younger man. His hands were tied "You know this isn't my decision, If it were up to me. I'd call it good and let you deal with this your own way."

"Fine, whatdoya need me ta do?"

"Do your time. Talk to Doc Wilkins. Show him you're ready to come back. But until then, I need your gun and your badge." Pride said sheepishly. He hated doing this Chris. This wasn't the way he did things. Being that they were such a small office, Director Vance normally held them to a different set of rules.

Seriously? Now, Chris felt like he was being attacked from attacked from all angles. This was starting feel more like an investigation rather than a period routine bereavement leave. Reaching for his side arm, Chris placed it on Pride's desk along with his badge before doing an about face and nearly colliding with Brody on his way out the door.

"Chris? Chris, wait," she called after him as he made his way through the courtyard. "Chris, please stop!"

"Let him go, Brody." Pride said putting a halt to any effort she might have wanted to make to go after him.

* * *

Early evening was just falling upon on the city, when Brody found Chris at the cemetery. He was sitting on the concrete in front of Cade's monument with a beer in hand. "The monument looks nice," she said sinking down beside him. She was still getting used to the fact that people buried their loved ones above ground in NOLA and that most of the interment sites were filled with concrete rather than grass.

"Yeah," Chris answered taking a pull from his beer.

For several moments nothing was said until Brody worked up the courage to loop her arm through his. "Please don't push me away," she whispered resting her head on his shoulder.

Chris sighed heavily before pulling his arm free of hers and slinging it around her shoulder as they both continued to look at the monument. That's when he decided to tell her.

"I'm gonna leave New Orleans for a while."

Leaving? Brody's face fell. "Where are you going?"

"Bama. My mom thinks it'll do her some good, to go spend some time with her sister and well maybe it'll do me some good too."

Brody blew out tense breath, willing the away the sea of emotions he had just created. "What about seeing Dr. Wilkins?"

"They have shrinks in Alabama. Savannah's already given me the name of a good one."

"Savannah?" Up until this point, Brody had avoided the fact that the red head was still apart of Chris's life. She seen the pretty counselor at the funeral and noticed the missed calls on Chris's phone, but that's all they were missed calls that hadn't been returned. Until now.

He could see she was starting to get upset. "Now, don't go getting' all bowed up. We both know that if I stay here all Doc Wilkins is going to want is to talk about you."

"That's not true," Brody smirked, embarrassed. She hadn't realized that Chris even knew about the good doctor. But Doug was a professional. He knew how to separate his personal life from work.

"At the very least you have to admit it's weird." Chris countered. "The guy who you are supposedly dating is treating the guy you're actually sleepin' with? How am I supposed to feel comfortable tellin' him anything?"

"Point taken," Brody quipped. "When are you leaving?"

"Day after tomorrow."

Placing her hands on either side of his face, Brody spoke to him in a husky voice. "So, that means we have tonight and tomorrow night for me to change your mind."

"I thought you just wanted to sleep," Chris grinned stupidly.

"That was before I knew you were going to be running out on me." Brody replied, pushing him back onto the concrete, hands already roaming.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry about the delay. It's been a crazy week. BTW, this ones a game changer.

_**PART II**_

**3 Weeks later…**

Merri Brody swallowed back the lump in her throat as she gazed down at the little pink plus sign on her twin package of home pregnancy tests. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. She was 41 years old. This wasn't supposed to happen now.

It had been just a bad case of heartburn, swollen breasts, and exhaustion. But she was also two weeks late. At first she had ignored the twinge in the back of her mind that kept reminding her that her period had been the one thing her life that she could count on like clockwork. She also tried to play it off by telling herself that she was getting on in years and now that she was over 40 it was perfectly normal for things to start becoming irregular.

She tried to calculate how many times she'd been with Chris and how many times they'd neglected to use protection, coming up with only one. That first night. She'd been so concerned for him that she, more correctly, they, had just started going at it, like a couple of mindless teenagers.

Her heart started to pound with fear. Reaching for her phone, she started to hit the speed dial for his number and then suddenly ended the call. Chris was still hundreds of miles away, back home, grieving with his family. She couldn't tell him this now. Not to mention this wasn't the type of thing you just sprang on someone over the phone.

She began to wonder how he would take it. They cared for each other yes, but it wasn't like they crazy in love; at least not yet. They'd come together through tragedy and vulnerability. Then there was the fact that Chris was almost decade younger than she was. His 32 to her 41? How was that supposed to work? She liked refined things and history. LaSalle well…he still liked to play with Legos.

Forty-one she sighed. She'd be 60 years old by the time the kid graduated high school. Pride did it, a little voice whispered inside her head. But Pride had Linda and they were madly in love for the majority of the time. Linda had been the stable factor in the child rearing department while Pride was off catching bad guys.

Speaking of Pride, he needed her back at the office she thought as she her cell phone buzzed to life.

_Chris LaSalle_

Brody felt like her chest was absolutely going to explode with fear. Chris was calling now? How could he have chosen this exact moment? How could he have possibly known that she needed him?

* * *

**Alabama**

Chris waited with anticipation as Brody's phone started to ring. Once, twice, three times, then to voicemail. Not knowing exactly what to say, Chris hung up. She was probably busy with a case. He had to admit, he felt guilty. He'd been in Alabama for close to a month now and had only spoken to his partner a couple of times. When he'd left NOLA he'd told her that he needed time, not time away from her necessarily but time to figure things out. He knew he wouldn't have been any good to her if he had stayed in the Quarter just hanging around waiting for time to pass. So, he had decided to temporarily separate himself from her. He wanted to spare her what he was going through. Merri had already been through it once when Emily had died. She didn't need to see him go through it too. It would open all those old wounds and he refused to do that her. In his mind, he had already imposed on her kindness enough.

The only downside to it was that he missed her. He couldn't say it out loud yet but he was crazy about her. Hell, he barely allowed himself to think it. Feelings of grief and anger kept getting in the way. He was still too vulnerable to be making any long term relationship decisions he reasoned.

Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he turned around to see a smiling face.

Savannah? "What are ya doin' here?" The last time he'd seen her was in New Orleans. Had she followed him here all the way to Alabama? In a way, it made sense he supposed. They'd been high school and college sweethearts and were from the same hometown. Savannah had always been close to his family and they had just started dating again, until...

The pretty red tilted her head in such a way she he would understand. "Considering, you still aren't returning my calls, I thought maybe it was time for some drastic measures."

An embarrassed, boyish smile crossed Chris's face as he looked down at his old college flame. "Well, to be fair, I've haven't been payin' attention to any of my calls lately."

Savannah's lips pursed together as she nodded her head. "It's understandable, but you and I, we, need to talk."

* * *

Brody held the phone up to her chest as tears of uncertainty began to fall. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined that she would be having a child with Chris. James, yes, sure, especially after his recent reappearance in her life but that's all that it was just a passing fling. James was never going to give up his job to settle down with her.

But Chris? He was the product of a traditional southern upbringing, God fearing, do right by people, kind of person. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that he wouldn't do the right thing and stand beside her when it counted. It was the fact that the timing and they way they'd come together... It was all wrong. Chris had only come to her because he was grieving. As much as she wanted to reach out to him and continue what they had started she knew that eventually things were going to return to normal. And then where would she be?

Miserable and frightened she sank to the bathroom floor, still clutching the phone. She didn't want to be pregnant but most of all she didn't want to be alone.

**A/N: This was always the plan! I even have the perfect name picked out for baby "Cherri" ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

Chris rubbed the back his neck. He was flattered that Savannah had come all this way because she cared about him, but he couldn't fathom the thought trying to sort through his feelings right now.

"What do ya want to talk about?"

"Well for starters, I want to know why you haven't started grief therapy yet. The therapist that I recommended said you haven't even contacted her office."

She was checking up on him? His eyes narrowed sharply. He had a therapist. His name was Johnny Walker Black. Truthfully however, he knew he needed to get back on the wagon and do something especially if he wanted to go back to NOLA. He'd tried to spend some time at the gun range that the Alabama office used but that had only earned him a constant replay of the night that Cade had died. Gunfire was huge trigger at the moment and he didn't know how he was ever going to deal it. He couldn't see himself sitting around on somebody's couch talking about it. It was something he just needed to work through on his own.

Savannah looked at him thoughtfully. She could see that he was angry and knew she had to be careful. "I thought therapy was the whole reason you came back here."

"I don't need help. I just need a doctor to sign a piece a of paper saying that I can go back to work," he countered.

"Fine," Savannah held out her hand. "Give it to me. I'll sign it." She was a licensed clinical therapist and although her specialty tended to lean more towards emotional disturbance and depression, she knew how to handle grief.

"You'd do that for me?" he asked surprised.

"Yes sir," she tempted him. "I'll sign it right now, if ya got it on ya?"

Curious, Chris stepped closer to her, his hands on his hips. "So, what do you get out of all of this?"

Savannah looked away for a moment. "Well, hopefully I get you."

* * *

**2 Days Later...**

Back in New Orleans Meredith Brody was trying desperately not to get sick as she rode shotgun with Pride. They were in hot pursuit of an ex-Marine who was suspected of murdering of his fiancée. Her stomach rolled viciously as Pride accelerated into a sharp corkscrew style turn. She could literally feel the cheese grits and bacon that she'd had for breakfast crawling back up her throat.

"Oh my God, Stop!" she yelled.

"What?" Pride looked at her dumbfounded.

"Stop the car!" She said slapping a hand over her mouth while Pride saw fit to slam on the breaks. The car skidded for several feet before coming to a complete stop. Flinging the door open, Brody lean over to the side, letting everything loose.

Hoping to save the poor woman some dignity, Pride turned his head until she was finished and fished out a handkerchief.

"Wow, I haven't seen that much vomit since Linda was pregnant with Laurel." He quipped, handing it to her.

Brody quickly blotted her mouth and reached for the water bottle sitting in the center console. "Is that a fact?"

Pride tugged on his sun shades. "It was either that or the time that Christopher decided to indulge in a little too much homemade hooch. I'd never seen anybody get so-"

Did he have to mention Chris? Brody thought pinning him with a steely gaze.

"Do ya need to go home or something?" Pride asked carefully. He seen the way she been worn down lately, but just attributed it to the fact they were shorthanded. In the wake of Chris's absence they had both been worn ragged.

"No," Brody replied, "but if you must know I have doctor's appointment at three o'clock, so if we could catch our suspect before then, I might not have to reschedule."

"Do what you need to do," he said, as he started up the car knowing he couldn't afford to have two people out.

* * *

Karma came to mind as Brody entered the ladies room at her OBY-Gen's office and promptly started to vomit. Ironically, the morning sickness had hit almost immediately after she'd discovered she was pregnant and refused to let up. This was 8th time today. My God! How did professional women live this way?

After finally tracking down their suspect and nailing him with one of her Aikido moves Brody cuffed him flawlessly, however on the way to the car, she successfully managed to throw up all over Pride's new shoes.

She was humiliated. He'd ended up sending her home after that, claiming he could handle to suspect by himself.

Thank goodness she thought noting that the OB-GYN's readily stocked mouthwash when she came out of the stall. They had just called her name and the last thing that she needed was to meet her doctor with dragon breath.

After changing and going through the formalities, Merri nervously slid down to the end of the exam table and placed her feet in the stirrups.

"Just relax," a female nurse said, the doctor began the pelvic exam. Turning her head, Merri fixated on the calendar that was hanging above the sink. It was the large dual type that sported two months instead of one.

Ironically, Cade's funeral had been six weeks to the day, she thought digging her fingers into the vinyl of the exam table as the doctor probed further. Closing her eyes she tried to recall on the events of the day. Mostly, she thought of Chris, his never ending smile, his touch, the way he tasted and his kiss… It was a horrible thing to think about when you were in the middle of a pelvic exam but she couldn't help it. She needed a focal point and the moment this was it.

"Congratulations," the doctor said, pulling her from her thoughts. "Judging by the size of your cervix you're about six weeks."

"Six weeks," Brody smiled in effort to bypass the tears that were gathering on her lashes. Her prediction had been right. She'd conceived the night of Cade's funeral; the first time she and Chris had made love.

After dressing and scheduling her next appointment, Brody stopped off at the pharmacy and picked up a prescription for the nausea and some prenatal vitamins before heading straight back to the office where she found Pride in the kitchen. She hated the way she had left things this afternoon and needed to check up on their suspect.

"Ya want some dinner?" he asked placing a plate of collard greens and boiled shrimp in front her.

I'm sorry but I can't stomach seafood right now." She pushed the plate away praying that her stomach wouldn't betray her.

"No worries, I can fix something else." Pride removed the plate from her sight and reached for his own. "So, have you told Sam yet?"

"Excuse me?" Brody looked him completely taken back. What had he just asked her?

"You're pregnant, am I right?" Pride didn't want to be intrusive and he knew it was illegal to ask as her employer. But if Brody was pregnant they were going to have a big problem when it came to field work. Not to mention, Brody had now been with them for a year. It was time he'd started calling her out on things. They were family now.

"How did you know?" she asked shrinking a little.

"Not too hard to figure out really," he answered taking his plate to the side. "That and you threw up on my shoes.

Brody shrunk down a little more. "Sorry about that."

"I'll get over it," Pride pressed his elbows onto the counter leaning towards her. "So, about Sam, is he excited?"

"He's not the father," Brody hung her head.

"Oh, well then…" Pride had pushed her too far. "I'm sorry. It's not my business."

"Actually, from a work perspective it is" Brody replied watching her boss's brow furrow. She was going to have to tell him sooner or later. Not like she and Chris would be able to hide it from the man, given the fact that they all worked in the same office.

"What do mean work perspective?" Damn, he was going to have to put her on desk duty and see about possibly getting temporary agent to fill her spot.

"I mean…Chris," she said softly. Brody didn't know where all of this was coming from normally she was a private and reserved type of personality but she suddenly found herself wanting to tell the man all of her deepest and darkest secrets.

"LaSalle?" Pride's eyes went wide in shock. He had no idea that they...or would even consider…the thought of…

"Wow!" he said in a big whoosh." Jesus, I asked you to be his friend. Not sleep with him."

An embarrassed glow spread over her cheeks. "Well…it just sort of…"

Pride looked around the kitchen bewildered. "Does Chris even have any idea?"

"I haven't told him yet," she admitted. "I just found out. I'm still trying to process it myself."

"Tell him, soon."

"I don't know if I can," she swallowed. "Chris has been through so much lately. I don't want to set a nuclear explosion or anything."

Pride gave her a half smile. "Chris is a grown man. I'm pretty sure he can handle it."

Brody lowered her eyes. "I just don't want to tell him over the phone."

"Point taken," Pride returned. "However, we do have the ability to conference on the big screen right over there." Pride paused watching her wrestle with her thoughts. He could see the tears were getting ready to fall. "I'll leave you alone for a bit. Politely, he excused him and picked up his plate heading for the courtyard.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Pride decided he needed to give it up for the evening. Sliding into bed, he found sleep was impossible. Thoughts of Brody and her situation kept plaguing him. She'd looked so broken and lost. He'd watched her stand at the video monitor trying to work up the courage to call Chris. The poor woman was absolutely terrified. In the end, she had just picked up her bag and left.

"Ah hell," Pride thought as an idea came to mind. It wasn't normally his style to meddle in the lives of his agents but this seemed like an emergency. Both of his agents were falling apart and the truth was he wasn't going to be able to do his job if they weren't at their best.

Picking up his cell phone he thought for a moment more. Brody would probably hate him for this. But if anyone had the power to bring Chris home he did.

**A/N: So what does Pride say to Chris? Does he spill the beans?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: About this chapter: The first section is a little rough, but I think the end will even things out. Yes, I have a wicked sense of humor.**

Chris was almost in throws of REM sleep when the ringtone from his cell phone let out a long whistle signaling that he had a text. Peeling one eye open he glared at the evil alarm clock on the nightstand and started to grope for the phone. The whistling sound was Pride.

He was just about to read the text when Savannah turned into him with a more than intoxicating kiss.

"So, now you're interested in your messages?" she giggled tossing a leg over his hip.

Chris knew it was rude to answer the phone when you were being seduced by a beautiful woman so he went along with it until the nagging in his head got the best of him. It was after midnight and it was Pride.

His mother had always told him that nothing good ever happens after midnight; hence, the woman that was currently attempting to straddle his hips. Though the sex was good it wasn't as good as when he'd been with Brody. It wasn't fair to Savannah when all he could do was visualize being with his partner again. He and Brody they had just had this magical chemistry together; one that he could still feel deep down in his core.

But how could he hurt Savannah? She'd come all this way just to be with him. He'd tried hard not to let himself get caught up in the moment but in the end it was memories and talking about Cade that had did him in.

Cade had wanted them together. Out of all the women, that Chris had dated over the years, Savannah had always been the one who got away.

"I'm sorry I've got to take this," he said kissing her as he reached over her for the phone.

"Really Chris?" he could tell by the tone of her voice that she was miffed. But the suspense of Pride texting him in the middle of night was just about to swallow him whole. King never called at night unless it was important. Especially not now when he knew Chris was virtually of no use to him workwise. He still had two more weeks to go on his mandatory extended leave.

The text simply read 9-1-1. It had always been their signal for when things went sideways. There was no need for explanation. The intent was clear.

Hitting the callback button, he pressed the phone to his ear.

_No answer. _

"I've got to go," he told Savannah as all sorts of scenarios filled his mind. Had something happened to Pride or was it Laurel? Loretta perhaps? Brody? Oh God. Not Brody. His heart started to pound fiercely in his chest as he threw back the covers and grabbed his clothes.

At this time of night it would take him 5-6 hours to get back to NOLA if he stuck to all the main highways. If he showered and packed quickly, he might make it by 7 a.m.

* * *

It was a little before seven, Pride was in the kitchen reading the paper and sipping on coffee when Chris suddenly appeared with questioning and worried eyes. He'd made record time breaking all kinds of speed limits and earning more than one ticket. Luckily for Chris, he'd able to sweet talk his way out of them with just a warning.

"King?"

"How ya been my brother?" Pride greeted with his usual style of cheeriness.

Chris' brow furrowed as Pride circled around the counter and slapped him on the back. "It's good to have ya back. Ya want some breakfast, steak and eggs?" Pride turned his back and walked over to the stove.

Steak and eggs? Chris was beyond confused now. He had just opened him mouth to speak when he heard Brody call out his name. He looked over his shoulder and saw the slender agent standing behind him.

"Hey Brody," he offered before turning his attention back in to Pride. "King, ya called me in the middle of night. What the heck is the emergency?"

Pride dumped a bowl of eggs into the frying pan debating about how to play this. "The lock on the gun rack is stuck again. I need you to fix it."

Gun rack? He thought somebody had died. Chris shifted his gaze to the floor in effort to marshal his frustration and completely missed the murderous look at Brody was giving Pride.

She was seething mad. He'd called Chris behind her back. She wanted to tear him to pieces.

"You want some steak and eggs, Brody?" Pride asked watching Brody slap her hand over mouth. The smell of the onions that Pride had mixed in with the steak was too much and sent her diving for the nearest trash can.

Chris tried to not to look as his partner she violently assaulted the trash can next to his desk but he couldn't help it. She looked fragile. Had Pride called him back because Brody was sick? He looked away as she collected herself and then disappeared into the bathroom.

Pride handed Chris a plate and fork. "As long as you're here, I need you run down some leads. We caught case, an ex-marine, Bronzea Wilson, is being accused of killing his fiancée. We've got Bronzea in custody but he's not talking."

Chris stuck his fork into his eggs. "Ok, you want me to take Brody?"

"I need Brody here. I'm going to have her try to take a crack at Bronzea. The file is on your desk."

"But what about director Vance? My six weeks ain't up yet?"

I'll take care of director Vance. You just get settled back in and then start takin' care of business.

Chris could only nod. He was still bewildered beyond belief but over the years he'd come to know something about Pride He always had a reason for doing things. So, he'd let the 9-1-1 call slide for now.

* * *

After Chris had gone, Brody cornered Pride. She was furious. Pride had not only violated her need for privacy but he'd broken her trust.

"How dare you call Chris!" she blasted. "This my problem and I have a right to tell him in my own way!"

Pride looked at her and let out a snort. Now it was his turn to do the talking. "You actually think I called Chris because of you? The truth of matter is Brody, I can't use you in the field now due to your… condition! So, I need Chris here. Tell him or don't tell him. It's your call," Pride paused for a moment shifting his gaze to her taut stomach. "But sooner or later, he will figure things out."

Brody sank her teeth into her bottom lip. She was still pissed. "So, let me get this straight. You're sidelining me?"

"It's not my choice. It's regulation. From here on out you're assigned to desk duty. " Pride returned before reaching behind him and grabbing at a grocery sack.

"Here," he said handing the bag to her.

"What's this?"

"Gingersnaps and Ginger Ale, it used to help Linda with the morning sickness when she was pregnant with Laurel."

"Thanks" Brody said flatly before stalking away. Despite Pride's excuse for needing Chris as manpower, he'd put undue pressure on her and she didn't like it. She thought she was going to have two more weeks to figure things out and now Pride had forced the hand. He was right, unless Chris was daft which he wasn't it wouldn't take him long to put two and two together, especially now that she was on desk duty.

She wanted to tell him, but she had been on her own for so long she didn't know how to handle having another person in the picture full-time. The truth of the matter was she had never really been the long term commitment type but this baby meant that she now had a lifelong connection to Chris.

Would they pick back up where they had left off? So, many questions, Brody sighed placing her face in her hands. All she wanted was to push them to the back of her mind and stop time for a little while. She was so consumed with her own thoughts that she didn't sense Chris's presence until he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Still not feelin' well?" he asked as he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. For several moments she remained still while he kneaded her tired, knotted muscles.

"I'm ok." she answered picking up her head when she stopped.

"Really, cause ya look kind of pale."

"Wrong color make-up I picked up the wrong one last time I was at the store." She rambled knowing Chris wouldn't push the issue if she brought in girly things to the conversation. She didn't feel like talking to him now and the office wasn't exactly the place to let him know she was carrying his child.

"So you wanna grab some dinner later?" he asked carefully. Like Pride, Brody seemed a bit off.

"Sure," Brody smiled at him. "How about we meet in Jackson Square around 8?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

It was a light evening in Jackson Square as far as tourists were concerned Chris thought. He'd been able to secure a picnic table near the fountain while he waited for Brody. He still wasn't certain why she wanted to meet here as opposed to just picking out a restaurant but he'd gone along with it. It had a crazy and confusing day as it was and he didn't have the energy to question it. He was exhausted after his all night trek back to the Crescent City. All he wanted right now was a good meal, a stiff drink and a comfortable bed.

He had to admit, he did feel a little guilty about the way he'd left things with Savannah. Eventually, he'd find a way to try and make amends. But right now, he just wanted to get his life back to normal.

Spotting Brody heading towards him he pulled to his feet.

On the other side of the fountain, Brody watched her partner as he stood. Damn, she thought. He was wearing that beautiful black t-shirt of his. In reality the shirt itself wasn't all that. But the way, Chris' muscles were splayed underneath it caused an ache between her thighs every time.

Automatically his classic grin spread across his face as she came into arms lengths, allowing for a natural hug to occur.

She held onto him a bit longer than she should have hoping that his embrace would somehow give her a sense of courage.

"Are ya feelin' any better? He asked pecking her cheek as they parted.

"Much," she lied as she took the opposite side of the picnic. The truth was she couldn't fathom the thought of dinner and what might happen if she were eat in front him. She might end up throwing up all over him or a stranger nearby. Her stomach was doing flip-flops just thinking about it.

She took in a deep breath and held if for a moment, letting out slowly. She honestly had no Earthly idea of how to begin. So, she was just going to say it. Reaching across the table, she grabbed his hand. "I wanted to meet you here because there's something I need to tell you."

"Ok, " Chris nodded as heard a familiar southern drawl scream his name from across the square. It was Savannah.

"CHRIS LASALLE!"

Was she stalking him now? He knew she had a fiery temper from back when they were kids but he didn't think that she would… How did she?

"I think I need to take care of this," he told Brody. "If ya hear me screamin' that means I need you to back me up."

Brody quickly retracted her hand as the angry red head drew closer, prompting Chris to rise to his feet so that he was standing between the two women.

"Savannah, I didn't think you'd be back here so soon," he quipped as she came in swinging. Her intent had been to slap him into tomorrow but luckily, Chris caught her hand before she could make contact.

"Is_ this_ the so called emergency that you left me alone in a hotel room in the middle of Alabama for?" Savannah shouted wriggling her wrist free from his grasp.

Chris threw up his hands in defense. "Now, hold on a minute let me explain."

Savannah was about to take another swing at him when Brody stepped in front of her partner. "No, let me explain. Yes, I am the reason that Chris left you alone. I am pregnant and before you ask, yes it is his child, only he didn't know that until just now. So, if you would please just back off and give us a minute. I promise when I am finished talking, you can have him. Then you can do whatever you want, scratch his eyes out, whatever you need to do and I won't interfere. But I need to talk to him first!"

Savannah's bottom lip began to quiver as she looked at the pregnant agent standing before her. She didn't bother to say anything. She just turned and fled. For several seconds, Brody just stood there watching the other woman disappear into the crowd.

She hadn't meant for everything to come out that way and she certainly hadn't meant for Savannah to become a casualty of her situation. In part, she actually felt bad for the young counselor. She'd been Chris's first love and obviously still had feelings for him.

Slowly, she turned around.

Chris had his back her. He had one foot up on the bench of the picnic table, staring vacantly at the fountain.

Brody placed her hand on his back. Things had gone badly and she feared what he might say. By all rights she should be mad as hell at him for sleeping with Savannah but she wasn't. "Well, now you know the real reason Pride called you back here."

Chris pushed his foot back to the ground and faced her. Had she really just said she was pregnant?

"Say something," her voice cracked.

**A/N: I guess you all know that you don't need to worry to about Savannah anymore! Truthfully, I just needed to use her as filler so that I could include Chris in the previous chapters. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This one is short, but I think it makes a clear point.**

"Say something," her voice cracked.

Chris LaSalle felt like he was in the Twilight Zone, a black and white version of it in fact. His brother had suddenly been taken from him and due to his own stupidity his childhood sweetheart had just been crushed beyond measure and now his partner was announcing that she pregnant with his child.

Brody was pregnant? His mind questioned as if he hadn't processed the thought clearly enough the first time.

What was he supposed to say that? Especially after the way Brody had just let Savannah have it. There were just no words that could follow that presentation.

He had a practiced response left over from a scare with another woman years ago: I'll support whatever you want to do, stand by your decision. He debated about asking her if she was certain but something told him not to go there. He also knew not to inquire about James or Sam. Brody would have already ruled them out as possible suspects before letting the entire French Quarter know that she was expecting.

"If it's a boy, I'd like to call him Cade," he said finally watching her face fill with relief.

Brody smiled at him as she looked into his eyes. "I don't have problem with that."

"There is one thing though. We definitely need to work on your communication skills." He paused for a moment watching her try to suppress a laugh. "You didn't think a phone a call would have done the trick?"

Not that he was going to blame Brody, but a phone call or some type of communication a day earlier would have saved him from giving into Savannah's advances. As it was he going to have to earn back Brody's trust. It wasn't as if they could just pick up where they'd left off with that standing between them.

"I thought this would be a little more personal."

"You definitely made it personal, that's for sure. You being so private and all."

Brody felt the creep of embarrassment start to crawl up her neck. "You're never going to let me live this down are you?"

Chris shoved his hands into his pockets. Where his insufferable teasing was concerned, Brody had just given him a storyline that would transcend a lifetime. "It's gunna take a while at fer sure."

"How long is a while?" she teased.

"I don't know," he shrugged trying to remain resigned. "Probably about as long as it takes you to forgive me for sleepin' with Savannah."

Brody's face changed. Suddenly that feeling of dread was back. She knew she wouldn't treat him like a scorned girlfriend, but that didn't mean that it still didn't hurt. She thought for a moment forcing herself to push the last 6 weeks into the back of her mind and retreat back to happy place she and Chris had been in before he'd left for Alabama.

"Who?" She watched as a huge grin spread across his face. "You know, people will only let you use your grief over Cade for so long." She added before pressing to her tip-toes and delicately brushing over his rugged mouth with her soft lips.

"I know," he grinned anchoring his hands on her soon to be swollen hips as she kissed him again this time taking his mouth in full.

"Let's go to your place," she breathed afraid just might try to go down on him right here on the picnic table. Chris had been gone for 6 long weeks and although, she was currently suffering from a horrific bout of morning sickness, her healthy libido had not let her stop thinking about what it was like to be with him.

Less than ten minutes later, they were standing in his bedroom, slinging articles of clothing in all sorts of directions. Merri knew she should make him at least attempt to win back her trust as they tumbled onto the bed, but all she wanted right now, was to feel him plunging deep inside her.

"Are ya sure about this?" Chris asked for the 3rd time as he buried his face into her neck. His mind was whirling with all kinds of thoughts. Had she really forgiven him that easily? Would they hurt the baby? Would he hurt her?

"There is one thing," Brody said taking in a sharp breath as his hand slipped down between them.

"What's that?" he breathed feeling her body tense with pleasure against his touch.

Her back arched as she emitted a small groan, "Condom."

Chris began to chuckle softly, nuzzling at her ear. "It's a little late for that. Don't ya think?"

"I'm serious," she deadpanned almost killing the moment. She suddenly found the fact that he'd been with another woman almost terrifying. She knew the chances of him actually having contracted something from Savannah were probably slim, but she didn't want to take the chance. Not now when she carrying the seed that would one day heal them both of them from their grief.

Chris let out a sigh as he rolled off her and pulled open the drawer to his nightstand. If this was price he had to pay to be with her then so be it. In reality it was very small to what it could have been. He wouldn't tell her until much later that he'd been smart when he'd been with Savannah. What it ever it took no matter how silly it seemed, he was bound and determined to win her back.

Now where were they? Chris took his time making love to her, kissing every inch of her body from her toes to her forehead. He especially spent a good amount of time, running his lips over her taut stomach. The thought that it would soon be swollen with child absolutely had him in awe.

"What do think of the name, Emily?" She asked afterwards, as they lay together wrapped in a sheet of perfect bliss.

"After your sister. I like that." Chris squeezed her tightly, planting a drowsy kiss into her hair.

"Emily Cadence," Brody breathed as she settled into his arms, sleepily.

**A/N II: Fin for now? I can't decide, but I didn't want to leave y'all waiting while I debate. Sequel or continuation of this one? Either way, I leave with you with a thought of happiness and the knowledge of Emily Cadence's existence.** **Yes, the baby is a girl. Feedback, suggestions welcome. **


	11. Sequel TeaserPreview

**A/N: Thank you to those who continue to ask about the sequel. While, I was at work today this came to mind so I thought I would post it as a preview/teaser/epilogue, what have you.** **Hope you all enjoy and please know that the sequel will be posted in a few weeks if not sooner. I'm just hoping to get some of my other stories completed first.**

Meredith Brody sucked in a deep breath as she entered the offices of Adult Mental Health Services with a large bouquet of purple tulips in her hands. Purple tulips were Savannah Kelly's favorite flowers or so she had been told by her partner and father of her unborn child, Chris LaSalle.

It had been nearly a month since Brody unintentionally, shattered any hope that Savannah may have had about a having future with Chris LaSalle and she felt guilty. Announcing that she was pregnant in the middle of Jackson Square probably wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. She certainly hadn't meant for Savannah to be hurt by it.

Or had she? She'd been well aware that Chris was dating Savannah that night he'd shown up on her doorstep looking lost and heartbroken after Cade's funeral. But somehow it didn't dawn on her to say no when he starting kissing her. She'd just let things happen, fully aware that he had been acting out of grief.

What kind of person does that? She wondered as she stepped up to the door of Savannah's office and gently knocked.

"Come in," Savannah was sitting at her desk, going over the case files for the week when the tall slender agent appeared in front her. What in the hell?

"Hi, I know this is uh…a little weird," Brody stammered setting the flowers on the desk as Savannah rose to her feet.

Savannah just looked at the new mother-to-be. Weird wasn't the word for it. It was downright awkward. The other woman had just showed up offering her flowers. Who in the hell does that?

"I um…wanted to apologize, "Brody started watching as the red head leaned over to smell the bouquet.

Savannah closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. "Apologize for what? Sleepin' with Chris or gettin' caught by having to admit that you're pregnant?"

Brody's chest tightened. She was unsure of how to respond. "I never meant for you to be hurt."

"Yet, you slept with Chris anyway?"

Brody's eyes fell to the floor. Things were going badly. Taking a step back, she began her exit from the room. "You know, I think I'm just going to go. I'm sorry that I bothered you."

Savannah purposely waited until Brody's hand was on the door before voicing her final thought. "Do you love him?"

"What?" Brody whirled around her face contorted. She didn't know what to say.

"It's a simple question." Savannah returned, sensing that she had the upper hand. "You either do or you don't."

Brody suddenly felt very small, almost shameful for not being able to being able to give the woman a definite answer. The woman was a shrink. For all Brody knew she was playing some sort of mind game, trying to goad her into feeling guilty.

"That is none of your business," Brody swallowed turning back into the door. She was half way down the hall when she suddenly had the biggest urge to go back and deck flippant red head. That was until her alter ego kicked in.

Can you blame her? She only wanted to take a shot at you because she had been hurt Brody told herself. Questioning her love for Chris was…

What was it?

Effective.

Brody couldn't deny she was unsure about how she felt about partner. Though the sex was great and while she was certain that she cared for him she wasn't quite ready to blurt out those three little words that would seal the deal. As if being pregnant wasn't enough, admitting that she loved him would make it too real.

She could barely comprehend that she was carrying a child, let alone think about making any kind of commitment.

When she thought of her unborn child, Emily Cadence, she thought about herself as a mom and a provider. She didn't necessarily think of the three of them as a family. Not that it couldn't happen, it just hadn't really crossed her mind yet.

Anger continued to bubble up in her chest as she mentally continued to debate. She didn't like feeling unsure and insecure. She was a full grown confident woman, but this made her feel inadequate. Like a scared child, or someone who didn't feel worthy of being loved.

If she told Chris that she loved him would he say it back? If he did, would he really mean it? There was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't be the perfect father to Emily Cadence. That would never be an issue this she was certain.

Her heart was starting to hammer. She needed to get out of here and put her mind at ease. She was almost to the exit when she remembered that she had left her car keys on Savannah's desk when she had set down the flowers.

Damn it! As if this wasn't adding insult to injury. The last thing she wanted was to have to go back and face the redheaded she-devil.

She didn't bother knocking this time, she barged right in, unprepared for what came next. A man nearing his sixties was standing in front of Savannah yielding a 22. Harold Richmond was his name.

Doing the only thing she could, Brody drew her own weapon. "NCIS, put the gun down!"

Harold looked at the agent from the corner of his eye. "I can't. She's responsible for my Anna-Beth. Because of her, my wife committed suicide!"

Brody shifted her eyes to Savannah.

"Anna-Beth was sick. She needed more help than what we could give." The redhead swallowed, heartsick over the fact that she hadn't been able to do enough for the poor woman.

"You said, if she came here, she'd be ok!" Harold lamented, thrusting the gun forward.

Brody felt her heart catch. The man was literally trembling. He didn't deserve to be here in this position and neither did Savannah. After watching Chris having to deal with Cade, it was easy to predict what had happened to Harold's wife. Brody felt sorry for the man.

"I'm going to put my gun down," Brody said calmly bending to her knees as she set her weapon on the floor and put her hands up in a show of good faith.

"We can talk about this," she said inching forward.

"Talking ain't gunna do no good!" Harold blasted turning his anger on Brody. "It won't bring Anna-Beth back!"

Fear ripped through Brody as she saw Savannah reach for the vase on the desk. Startled, at the sound of movement from behind him Harold whirled on the redhead, forcing Brody to move for the gun. In one swift movement, Brody reached for his arm and proceeded to throw him downward. Taking an awkward step she lost her footing, turning into the man as the gun went off, sending the bullet straight into her upper abdomen.

Brody heard herself gasp before she felt the pain. Had she really just been shot in the stomach? Pain wasn't an issue as her mind began to flood with fear. The only thing she could think of was losing the baby.

Slowly, she sank to the floor. She barely noticed as Savannah called for help and sank down beside her, applying pressure to her wound.

* * *

Chris and Pride were already waiting at the hospital when the ambulance arrived. Chris was calling out to her, but she barely heard him.

In and amongst the confusion, she thought she heard, Pride trying to calm him. But it did no good. He was out his mind with fear, fighting tooth and nail to get to her so much so that Pride and a security guard had to restrain him. She wanted to reach out to him, and tell him that she was sorry, but she couldn't. She was too far gone.

Once thing was certain, though she could feel Emily Cadence slipping away. Closing her eyes, the onset of tears slipped out from beneath her lashes, for the first time since she'd discovered she was pregnant all she could do was think about how much she wanted a life with Chris and this baby.

Please God. She murmured softly as the cannula was placed over her face, putting her life and the life of Emily Cadence in his hands.

* * *

Morning was just peeking through the blinds when Brody saw fit to open her eyes. Her lids were still heavy with the effects of anesthesia as she tried to make out Chris' blurry form.

Her hand was clasped tightly between his as he leaned into the bed railing eyes closed, praying. Secretly, she always knew he processed a strong sense of faith due to his strong southern upbringing. He didn't talk about it much. It was just a part of who he was and she like that. A man who wasn't afraid to show a little faith now and then was surely worth keeping around.

Slowly, the fog cleared to the point that she was able to form words.

"Chris?" she croaked softly forcing his head to pop up. She watched as his signature grin spread across his face in LaSalle style fashion. There was just something about it that always made her stomach do flip flops. Even in a moment like this it brought her sense of peace.

Words weren't necessary as he caressed her cheek in time with a heartfelt kiss, the sensation bringing her back to real life. "How's the baby?" she dared to ask,her heart mounting with fear. Could she have really survived a bullet wound to her mother's stomach? The blood lose alone and trauma alone were enough to make her little soul want to give up.

Chris brushed her lips with the pad of his thumb, before kissing her again. "She's hanging in there. Doc, says if she makes it through the next twenty-four hours, she stands a good chance of makin' it full term."

They were lucky. The small caliber bullet had lodged itself underneath Brody's rib cage far from the cocoon of her mother's uterus. At just ten weeks, she was safely tucked away deep in her mother's womb. All they had to worry about was Brody's body rejecting the little miracle due to a need to heal.

Brody felt tears prick at her eyes as Chris handed a small black and white photo. She? The baby girl, she'd been dreaming of was a reality. Pursing her lips, she managed a weak smile as he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. They were really having a girl!

"I love you," she mouthed, too weak for words as he swept his lips over hers one more time.

"I love you, Meredith Brody."


End file.
